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Studley has opened its first office in China, at Central Plaza, 381 Huaihai Mid Road in Shanghai, the company announced Wednesday.

The new office, Studley president Michael Colacino said in a statement, “will serve as a gateway for businesses in Asia looking to open offices and make investments in the United States and for Studley clients interested in expanding into China.”

The New York City–based tenant-rep specialist stated that the Shanghai  office is the first of several it will open across Asia in the near future. Studley already does business in Singapore and Korea, Colacino told Commercial Property Executive.

The Shanghai office will be headed by Yin Li (pictured at left), managing director, head of China operations and Greater China chief representative. In addition to overseeing day-to-day operations of the new office and heading what the company describes as “an ambitious recruiting effort,” she will oversee Studley’s expansion into other major Asian cities.

Yin splits her time between Shanghai and New York City, and before joining Studley, she spent the majority of her career with AIG and Zurich Financial Services, where she worked on strategic planning for multinational corporations.

She earned a B.S. from Shanghai Normal University and an M.B.A. in finance from Long Island University.

There are currently two major types of opportunities in China, Colacino told CPE. “First, American and EU companies opening there and wishing to have ‘Western style’ tenant rep services (without conflict and with transparent processes). Second, real estate investment banking services to assist Chinese (and Asian) capital to find safe harbors in U.S. real estate assets in certain markets, for example, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and especially New York.”

]]> http://www.cpexecutive.com/regions/international/studley-launches-shanghai-office-its-first-in-china/feed/ 0 http://www.cpexecutive.com/regions/northeast/waterman-completes-75-year-master-lease-at-nycs-400-park-ave/ http://www.cpexecutive.com/regions/northeast/waterman-completes-75-year-master-lease-at-nycs-400-park-ave/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 15:14:36 +0000 Suzann Silverman http://www.cpexecutive.com/?p=1004071998 By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Waterman Interests Inc.’s ownership of the leasehold interest on 400 Park Ave., an office and retail building in the Plaza district of Midtown Manhattan, is now secure — at least until the 21st Century nears its end. The real estate investment and operating company, which owns the asset in joint venture with institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, just signed a new 75-year master lease with Benenson Capital Partners, the longtime owner of the land beneath the 250,000-square-foot property.

The closing of the lease transaction comes approximately three years after Waterman Interests purchased the leasehold interest at 400 Park from RFR Holdings L.L.C. Waterman Interests didn’t originate debt for the acquisition then, and the asset remains unencumbered today.

Extension of the master lease frees Waterman to expand upgrades at the 21-story tower without the constraints of the previous lease, which was scheduled to expire in 17 years.

“The asset has already attracted ‘best-in-class’ banks, private equity firms and hedge funds, which have leased over 100,000 square feet as we commenced, and completed, Phase I of our capital improvements,” Philip “Tod” Waterman III, founder & managing member of Waterman Interests, told Commercial Property Executive. Recent commitments have come from Malayan Banking Berhad, which leased the entire 11th floor of the building in December 2012. Additionally, City National Bank took the entire 15,000-square-foot retail space and some office space last June.

Currently, 400 Park is roughly 70 percent occupied, and Waterman Interests is confident that, with the freedom to move forward with Phase II of its improvement program, it will be able to reel in even more tenants. As it implements upgrades — including renovation of the entryway, improved exterior and interior lighting, installation of a redundant chiller and emergency generator, and replacement of high-rise windows to match those in Phase I  — and completes construction of the new City National Bank branch at the corner of the building, and “we expect momentum to continue and accelerate,” said Waterman.

Also working in the property’s favor is the fact that the Manhattan office market is faring relatively well. The national vacancy rate in the first quarter was 15.4 percent, according to a report by commercial real estate services firm Cassidy Turley, while Manhattan recorded a vacancy of 11.8 percent. “(Demand is being spurred by the) intellectual talent pool, cleanliness and safety of the city, compared to other large cities around the world, and the diversity of the New York economy, which is constantly evolving and demanding diverse office occupancy choices,” Waterman added.

Jack Cuneo

By Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor

Less than a month after telling shareholders it was exploring ways to provide a “liquidity event,” Chambers Street Properties, a self-managed Maryland REIT, made it official Tuesday, announcing it intends to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The REIT said it expected to be trading on the NYSE under the ticker CSG on or by May 21.

The REIT, which has its headquarters in Princeton, N.J., also said it was planning a modified “Dutch Auction” tender offer to purchase as much as $125 million of its common shares. Chambers Street would select the lowest price within a range of $10.10 and $10.60. The tender offer will be paid for with funds from its unsecured revolving credit facility.

In an April 2 letter to stockholders, Chambers Street president & CEO Jack Cuneo said the firm had hired Wells Fargo Securities L.L.C. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as its financial advisors. He noted listing its shares on a national exchange was a possible outcome as it positioned itself for a “future liquidity event.”

The firm’s board of trustees deemed listing on the NYSE to be “in the best interest of the company and its shareholders,” according to a news release from Chambers Street Tuesday.

“Chambers Street believes that a listing will enable it to continue to execute its asset management, portfolio growth, and capital strategies designed to maximize shareholder value,” the release stated. “Publicly traded real estate companies have enjoyed strong returns in recent years, and companies that own net lease properties, similar to Chambers Street, are trading at attractive valuations. In addition, Chambers Street believes that a listing on the NYSE will provide access to additional potential investors as well as to a broader range of potential sources of capital.”

Because of the pending listing, Chambers Street officials could not comment beyond the firm’s news release.

The plan for public listing comes as the REIT has had a particularly active year since changing its name from CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust last June and moving to self-management. The REIT has about $3.2 billion in real estate holdings in the United States and abroad. It currently owns or has majority interests in 129 properties, mostly industrial and office assets, in 22 U.S. states, Germany and the United Kingdom. As of Dec. 31, 2012, the portfolio was 98 percent leased to 272 tenants, with diversity in locations, industries and lease expirations.

Two weeks ago, Chambers Street said Big O Development Inc., a major tenant at its Summit Distribution Center property in Salt Lake City, had signed a five-year lease renewal. An automotive tire distributor, Big O leases more than 100,000 feet of the 275,000-square-foot center, acquired in 2010 as part of a seven-property industrial portfolio.

Celebration Office Center, Orlando

Chambers Street has made four big acquisitions so far this year, including acquiring the remaining interests in 17 properties it owned in joint venture with Duke Realty Corp. The portfolio, which sold for a reported $98.6 million, comprised 16 office properties and one industrial asset, an 820,000-square-foot warehouse/distribution facility in Phoenix. The office properties included three buildings with a total of 542,000 square feet in Cincinnati and two buildings with a total of 451,000 square feet in Columbus. Other properties were located in Dallas; Fort Lauderdale; Houston; Minneapolis; Raleigh, N.C.; and two in Orlando  – Celebration Office Center and Northpoint III, with a total of 209,000 square feet.

In February, Chambers Street made its first acquisitions in the Philadelphia area, closing on two office buildings totaling 300,000 square feet in Malvern, Pa. The two buildings were developed by Chambers Street, then still known as CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust, and Trammell Crow, a CBRE Group subsidiary, in joint venture and leased to Endo Health Solutions.

Featured are: Goldie B. Wolfe Miller, Millbrook Corporate Real Estate Services; Megan Riess, Fishman Haygood Law Firm; Allison E. Beall, Pacific Building Group; Irene L. Hosford, Brown McCarroll LLP; and Elizabeth E. Solender, Solender/Hall Inc.

Jamestown, the real estate investment and management firm that has raised more than $5 billion in equity for its U.S. funds, is tapping into Latin America, where it has created a new division headed by a veteran executive with emerging markets experience.

Philip Fitzgerald, who has more than 20 years of institutional real estate investment and management experience, has been named CEO of Jamestown Latin America. Fitzgerald recently served as managing director of emerging markets for Paladin Realty Partners, where his team managed investments in more than $4 billion worth of real estate assets.

“Latin America presents an incredible opportunity for real estate investment. Over the past two decades, the countries on which we are focusing have implemented crucial economic and political reforms, leading to a growing middle class that has unmet demands for every type of real estate product,” Fitzgerald said in a news release. “There is another 20 years of opportunity ahead of us, based on Latin America’s youthful demographic and growing prosperity.”

The firm will open two local offices — in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Bogota, Columbia — and staff them with teams that are experienced in the company’s core markets. Jamestown Latin America also plans to partner with local operators and developers with proven experience in those markets, while at the same time leveraging the company’s existing infrastructure, resources and institutional relationships for a best-in-class investment platform.

“Jamestown has been studying and analyzing the merits and opportunities of emerging markets for the past decade, and we are convinced now is a good inflection point at which to enter the market,” Matt Bronfman, global CEO of Jamestown, noted in the release.

Founded in 1983, Jamestown has offices in U.S. cities including Atlanta, New York City, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., as well as an office in Cologne, Germany. The firm has 27 core and core-plus funds and five opportunity funds. The funds have acquired more than 80 properties including more than 25 million square feet of space. Their high-profile properties include Chelsea Market and One Times Square in New York City, the Newbury Collection in Boston and 799 Market St. in San Francisco.

Other commercial real estate firms are also finding Latin America ripe for investments. Transwestern, the commercial real estate services firm, recently announced it was boosting its activities in Latin America, naming Chip Clarke, a longtime company executive, as president of the Americas region. Clarke’s responsibilities will include overseeing the firm’s efforts to expand in the region.

Fitzgerald’s former firm, Paladin, founded the PALVAL Homebuilding Platform to develop and market condominiums for the growing middle class in Colombia. Paladin is investing $15 million in PALVAL, and its partner, Grupo Immobilario y Constructor Valor S.A., is investing $5 million to develop approximately 1,000 units worth about $100 million.

Prudential Real Estate Investors noted in its ”Latin American Quarterly Outlook” for January 2013 that “Latin America’s real estate market is growing through capital inflows in public markets, increased participation from institutional investors and rising construction and transaction activity.” The report stated that construction of shopping centers and office buildings is on the rise to meet the growing demand. Mexico’s industrial market is particularly strong due to the automobile sector.

Investment banking services company Guardian and Atlanta-based Executive Asset Management are on the same team now that Guardian has acquired a controlling interest in the residential and commercial real estate management firm. Guardian will merge the firm with its AssetAdvisor division and build on EAM’s status as an expert in disposition strategies, property management and rental solutions for FDIC Loss Share assets.

The marriage is a timely one. “The industry, particularly those sectors involving loss share assets, is very fragmented with many smaller players; we definitely see consolidation on the horizon,” Paul Brenneke, founder and CEO of Guardian Investment Banking & Real Estate, told Commercial Property Executive. “Additionally, asset management requires scale and volume; therefore, joining forces makes sense for both parties.”

Guardian is a big gun—its team has closed more than $10 billion in capital market transactions—but EAM is no small force, having orchestrated the disposition of more than $2 billion on behalf of clients across the country. The newly merged entity will operate as EAM and overlap will be minimal, as Guardian’s expertise has centered primarily on commercial assets, while EAM has focused mostly on residential properties. “Bad bank portfolios are full of all asset types and therefore, having broad based competencies is essential to provide turn-key service in the loss share industry,” said Brenneke.

The companies’ combined expertise and shared operational synergies will likely provide a firm foundation for the new entity’s growth in the rebounding real estate industry, and growth is indeed on the agenda. “We intend on expanding our customer base from banks to funds and other investors that have acquired pools of assets, but don’t want to develop the systems and processes to solve a short-term market problem,” he explained. “We can step in and provide immediate scale and efficiency.”

EAM will probably have its hands full; while the real estate market is quite clearly in recovery mode, it has yet to make a full comeback. “There are still hundreds of billions of troubled assets stuck in the system,” Brenneke noted. “The US is still paying the price for too much leverage and other parts of the world are suffering from similar challenges.  Even though there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel, especially in coastal urban markets, there will continue to be a push to flush through the challenges before the real estate markets are completely healed.”